Sweeper



M. A. BAILEY April 3, 1956 SWEEPER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 1, 19531! 1 HH M m/1r Marcus 4. Bailey IN V EN T 0R.

Isl QM w M- A. BAILEY April 3, 1956 SWEEPER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct.1, 1953 Fig. 4

8 0 m 2 R m 4 mm 8w. 3 4 A. m 5 H w W M W m/ United States Paterit O2,740,147 SWEEPER Marcus A. Bailey; Tucker, Ga. Application October 1,1953, Serial N01 383,478 3 Claims. cl. 15-160) This invention relates toa sweeper, and more specifically provides a sweeper having a pair ofadjustable brushes to adjust the width of the effective sweeping path.

An object of this invention is to provide a swee er having a pairof'handles wherein manipulation of 'the'handles causes an adjustment ofthe width of the sweeping path of the device.

Another object of this invention is to provide asweeper having a pair ofcaster rollers thereby facilitating the movement of the sweeper.

A further object of this invention is to provide a sweeper having a pairof angular adjustable brushes and a synchronized linkage system foradjusting each brush.

Yet another object of 'this'ihvntion is to provide a sweeper which'maybe easily'adjusted and pfopelled'to vary the width of the'sweeping'path.I

A still further objectof this invention is toprovide a sweeper which issimple in construction, easy to operate and adjust and inexpensive tomanufacture.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming apart hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure l is a top plan view of the sweeper of this invention with aportion of the handle members broken away;

Figure 2 is an end view looking from the right hand section of Figure 1showing the relationship between the sweeper brushes and the operatinglinkages;

Figure 3 is a transverse, vertical section taken substantially along thejunction between the actuating levers and the connecting members;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal, vertical section taken substantially alongthe longitudinal center line of the sweeper;

Figure 5 is a transverse, vertical section taken substanr tially alongsection line 55 of Figure 4 showing details of the brush mounting pin;and

Figure 6 is a perspective view of one of the brush members with thetrash carrying projection along the top edge thereof.

Referring now specifically to Figure 1 of the drawings, it will be seenthat the numeral 10 generally designates the sweeper of this inventionhaving a pair of elongated brushes 12 extending in angular relation toeach other and a pair of handle members 14 extending upwardly andrearwardly from the sweeper 10.

The sweeper 10 includes a generally rectangular plate 16 having a pairof depending U-shaped members 18 adjacent one end thereof with one ofthe U-shaped members 18 located adjacent the side edge of the plate 16and the other U-shaped member being located adjacent the opposite sideedge of the member 16. The U-shaped members 18 rotatably support a pairof rollers or casters 20 on a suitable axle 22. Adjacent the oppositeend of the plate 16 is a pair of suitable apertures adjacent each cornerreceiving a pivotal shaft 24 which is rigidly secured adjacent one endof the brush member 12 and an off-set wardly of the hub' me mber 3'4and"ture therein for receiving f link'26 is secured toith e up use of vlink 26 is 'spaced from the'iupper surface 9 the'pl' by a" suitablebearing wheels 20and positioned on' the upper surface ofth" pl theextension 40 wherein P nd f hssliaf 'ie f at a i ab ssst s swl fl nd. tiw s n. th j c i301 Ai iaq httth 16 is a pair of upstanding pinsj12rotatably Jsecuri P member 34 thereon; The hub member 34'inclu'desa'segment gear 36 adjacent the bottom 'end 'thereofandfan elongatedextending lever 38 projecting from fthe up per edge of 'the hub '34andan "ear member 4 0 projectingr e arhaving asuitable' apera pivot bolt42 for adjustably securing handle members 14 about" the pivot bolt" 2't0the handle"14, lever 38 and segment gear 36 are pivotal about'th'evertical axislf orrned by the vertical pin 32 and the handle14'ispivo'ted'fabout the horizontal axis formed by the pivot b01642." A's'uit- 'able fasteningme'anssuch'as a'cotterpin" 46 is inserted throughthe upper'end of the vertical pin'32for securing the hub 34 thereon. Aswill be seen in Figure '1',"th'ere are two vertical pins'32 locatedadjacent opposite corners of the plate 16 and the handles 14 extend'r'earwardly'threfrom and upwardly inclined to a'r'ubberhandgrip'portion '(not'shown). The lever membersf38'extend angularly fromthe hub 34 and project across the plates '161a'nd cross each othenand'are pivotally attached to 'the'foif-set 'link 26 by a connecting member48which spaces the ends of the levers 38 fromthe 'links'26 and completesthelinkage connectionv between the brushes" 12 and handles 14. It willbe noted that' segmental gears 36 mounted on'the hub 34 are in meshingengagement'and whenthehub34 is pivoted about-the pins32'bymoving'th'efhan'dles '14 the gears 36 and the levers 38 aresynchronized in their pivotal movement due to the meshing of the segmentgears 36. Obviously, the off-set links 26 are moved simultaneously andthe brushes 12 are pivoted about the shaft 24 at the same time andthrough the same number of angular degrees. As best shown in Figure 6,the brush 12 may be provided with a longitudinal extension 50 secured tothe upper edge of the brush and projecting upwardly therefrom for movingbulky trash over the surface to be swept. The extension 50 is generallyright angular in configuration with one of the legs being short andhaving keyhole slots 52 therein for receiving screw heads 54 inserted inthe upper edge of the brush member 12 thereby fastening the extension tothe brush 12 in an obvious manner. The brushes 12 are of a specialdesign for the purpose and having an elongated rigid member with thebristles depending therefrom and presenting a flat sweeping surface. Itwill be noted that the distance from the under surface of the plate tothe bottom of the caster wheels 18 is substantially equal to thedistance from the under surface of the plate to the bottom edge of thebrushes 12; further, the distance between the upper surface of the plate16 and the various linkages is substantially equal, thereby providing aneasy movement of the lever 38, the off-set link 26 and the connectingmember 48.

The operation of the device will be readily understood. The brushes 12are set in the desired position by operating the handles 14, either bymoving them toward each other or away from each other and the sweeper 10is propelled along the surface to be cleaned. Where the area to becleaned has variou obstructions such as shallow passageway, the brushes12 may be adjusted to vary the path of sweeping movement by manipulatingof the handles 14 thereby eifectively cleaning the entire passagewaywith one operation of the sweeper. Obviously, this device is especiallyuseful in the cleaning of areas having numerous obstructions wherein thesweeper having a stationary brush must be passed along the surface to becleaned numerous times to efiiciently clean the surface, whereas thedevice of this invention will effectivelyclean the surface'with only asingle cleaning movement. The

pleasing appearance and protecting the working mechanism from damage anddust. The various parts of this device may be made of suitable castingssuch as aluminum for light Weight and durability and a housing of castaluminum may also be provided, however, other materials may be used oremployed a desired or may become available. The casters 20 provide aneasy propelling support for the sweeper 10 and also provide a pivotpoint for raising the brushes 12 from the floor and returning thesweeper 10 for a repeat of the sweeping operation. The brushes 12 can beopened to a maximum of 180 degrees and the handles 14 can be pivotedaround pivot bolt 42 to a vertical position so that when brushes 12 areopened to 180 degree and handles 14 are pivoted to vertical position,the entire sweeping instrument can be stored in a space not more thantwo to three inches wider than the longest dimension of frame 16. Thebrushes 12 will be so designed that they can be switched from side toside, that is interchangeable from one side to the other, thus when thebrush fibers become bent back by forward movement, switching brusheswill cause the fibers to be bent forward thereby increasing theefliciency of sweeping and adding life to the brushes.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will bereadily understood and further explanation is believed to beunnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction shown and described,

and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may beresorted to, falling within the scope of the appended claims:

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. In a sweeper, a rectangular plate having front and rear ends andsides, a pair of caster wheels at the rear end and opposite sides ofsaid plate, a pair of elongated brushes extending forwardly of the frontend of the plate and having rear end pivoted to said front end andopposite sides of the plate for swinging of said brushes laterally withrespect to each other, and means for swinging said brushes insynchronism comprising a pair of intermeshing gear segments pivoted onsaid plate adjacent said rear end and opposite sides of said plate, apair of rearwardly extending handles on said segments for pivoting thesame, a pair of levers on said segments extending forwardly therefrom incrossed relation and swingable oppositely, relatively, by pivoting ofsaid segments, and operating connections between said levers and saidbrushes.

2. In a sweeper according to claim 1, said operating connectionscomprising a pair of links fixed to the pivots of said brushes, and apair of pivoted links connecting said levers to said first named links.

3. In a sweeper according to claim 1, said handles be ing pivoted onsaid segments for vertical swinging thereon into diflerent positions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS ClarkOct. 21, 1952

